C T Manley

I can still hear the cheer, “Listen my children and you will hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere; riding down the alleys and up the streets yelling, “Colbert Indians can’t be beat. La de da, Colbert Indians can’t be beat.” Can you hear it, too?

Colbert County High School Letter

Those were carefree days at Colbert County High School in Leighton. Those were the days of Coach Manley and Mr. Holland. But C. T. Manley was there before me and long after I had gone from the halls at CCHS. He was a great man and a greater coach, but his best legacy remains the character building he instilled in all those students who knew him.

Charles was the spouse of Joyce LeMay Manley.*************************C.T. Manley

Coach C.T. Manley, 91, of Leighton, died Dec. 31, 2007.

The funeral service will be Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, at the Colbert County High School gym. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m., and the family will arrive at noon. The service will begin at 1 p.m. in the gym, with burial following in Elmwood

Charles Thomas (C T) Manley

Cemetery, Town Creek.

Ministers Charles James and Melvin Mordecai will officiate. Speaker will be sportscaster Jerry Knight.

He was an athletic director and coach at Colbert County High School, Muscle Shoals High School and Red Bay High School. He coached at Southeast Louisiana VMI and Mississippi State. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Southeast Louisiana, Alabama High School, Colbert County High School and Lawrence County High School.

C.T. Manley Memorial Scholarship, to be awarded annually to a Colbert County student on the basis of academic merit and participation in the athletic program. Memorials may be made to Bank Independent, Attn: Teresa Flannagan, P.O. Box 5000, Sheffield, AL 35660.

Any discussion of the all-time great high school football coaches in north Alabama usually begins with the same name.

That name is synonymous with high school football in our area. That name is C.T. Manley.

It has been more than 20 years since Manley last coached a football game and more than 25 years since he coached at Colbert County High School.

All the current kids who play in the stadium named for Manley were born after he retired. Most of the visiting players only know of Manley as the name on the stadium.

Manley’s legacy, however, is more than just the name on that stadium. His legacy is the proud tradition of Colbert County football.

That tradition was on display Friday night as Colbert County honored its former coaching greats. Don Creasy and the late Jimmy Moore — two other legendary coaches at Colbert County — were also honored.

Manley, 88, has been pretty much confined to a wheelchair since hurting his hip in a fall a year and a half ago. He did not let that prevent him from attending Friday’s ceremony, however.

“This is the first game we’ve been to since he got hurt,” said Manley’s wife, Joyce. “He is in a lot of pain, so he can’t do a lot of the things he used to enjoy. He reads, and he enjoys watching the Braves play on TV, but he doesn’t get out too much.”

Manley began coaching at Colbert County in 1954 and quickly established the Indians as one of the top teams in north Alabama. He coached several great teams, and his 1972 state championship team is generally considered the best ever in north Alabama.

That squad was filled with great players, including Ozzie Newsome, Phil Gargis and Thad Flannagan.

Manley coached 24 years at Colbert County before finishing his coaching career at Muscle Shoals. He proved he could succeed at somewhere besides Colbert County by leading Muscle Shoals to its best season ever in 1979.

In his 24 years at Colbert County, Manley posted a record of 171-78-7. In addition to the state championship in 1972, the Indians were the Class 3A runner-up in 1967.

Manley admitted that coming back to watch Colbert County brought back a lot of great memories for him.

“I can’t do too much anymore, but I still enjoy watching football when I can,” he said. “I coached a lot of games on this field and have a lot of great memories from them. This program has come a long way over the years.”

Although Manley is modest about talking about what he has meant to the Colbert County program, others are quick to talk about his legacy.

“Coach Manley is the cornerstone of the whole program,” Colbert County coach Steve Mask said. “The people here love him so much, and I have so much respect for him. I’m just honored to coach at the same school as C.T. Manley.”

“Where Are They Now” is a weekly feature of the TimesDaily. This week’s installment was written by Assistant Sports Editor Jeff McIntyre. He can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.

Charles T Manley’s Enlistment information for World War II follows:

Name:

Charles T Manley

Birth Year:

1916

Race:

White, Citizen (White)

Nativity State or Country:

Alabama

State of Residence:

Alabama

County or City:

Lawrence

Enlistment Date:

14 Nov 1942

Enlistment State:

Louisiana

Enlistment City:

New Orleans

Branch:

Branch Immaterial – Warrant Officers, USA

Branch Code:

Branch Immaterial – Warrant Officers, USA

Grade:

Private

Grade Code:

Private

Term of Enlistment:

Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law

Component:

Selectees (Enlisted Men)

Source:

Civil Life

Education:

4 years of college

Marital Status:

Single, without dependents

Height:

72

Weight:

170

Coach Manley’s family history included the surnames: Manley, Key, Rogers, Green and McGregor. Coach Manley’s relatives buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Town Creek, Lawrence County, Alabama include:

C T Manley enlisted in the U S Army in 1942 as a Private; a single man with four years of college. He was six feet tall and weighed 170 pounds. He earned the rank of Corporal and participated in the Battle of the Bulge where frostbite was as much the enemy as were the Germans. The Battle of the Bulge was significant because it marked the last major offensive that the Germans were able to put together. It was the largest and most intense battle and important for the outcome of WWII. It was basically the start of Germany’s ending.

I have always wondered what the bulge in this battle was; The ‘bulge’ was the frontline that protruded out in the region of the Ardennes Mountains, specifically around the town of Bastogne. The Allied forces at that time had control of the area and Nazi forces thought the region to be necessary to take, as the town of Bastogne gave full access to the eight supply routes in the region. All of the eight roads came together in Bastogne and these roads were important to both sides in the war. The Germans used the ‘bulge’ against us by cutting it off at the sides and surrounding the Allied troops within it. The Battle of the Bulge was significant also in that henceforth the people in the Nazi Deathcamps were liberated – a very important aspect for sure.

You may access the first of three rare color videos of the battle here; the second of the three videos here, and the third of the three videos here. There are many more videos online of the Battle of the Bulge and you may seek them out at youtube.